Getty Rams head coach Sean McVay and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
By next week, April 29, the Los Angeles Rams will begin adding some new faces to their 2022 roster as they pursue back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
But on Friday — and one week before the Super Bowl 56 champs announce who their 104th overall pick will be in the NFL Draft — the Rams managed to squeeze in one more meeting with a prospect of interest.
This prospect not only is an owner of his own championship (a national title ring). But his brother is a three-time Pro Bowler who missed his 2021 game versus the Rams this past season.
Who is Meeting With the Rams?
Per NFL insider for Fansided Matt Lombardo, Georgia running back James Cook is set to have one last meeting session with the Rams.
If the surname rings a bell — he’s the younger sibling of three-time Pro Bowl running back for the Minnesota Vikings Dalvin Cook.
The Bulldog runner enters the league having won the national title with Georgia. Lance Zierlein of nfl.com wrote the word “instinctive” as the first scouting word used in the strengths section of his evaluation of Cook. He also verbally illustrated Cook’s running ability by describing his smoothness in delivering cuts and running with rapid fire feet.
His Viking brother earned his third straight Pro Bowl nod after surpassing 1,000 yards for the third consecutive season. The former Florida State Seminole, however, was limited to 13 games during the regular season and ended up missing the December 26, 2021 home game against the Rams — which the visitors won 30-23 to officially clinch a playoff spot.
The Bulldog, however, accomplished this feat over his multiple Pro Bowl sibling at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis:
James Cook beat his brother @dalvincook‘s 40 time and he’s letting him hear it. 😅
It’s also not the first time that the younger Cook has been linked as a possibility to the defending champs.
Georgia RB Mentioned as Draft Possibility Before for Rams
Cook has been considered a possible new resident inside the “Rams House” before by one national beat writer.
In a March 28 article from The Athletic called “2022 NFL Beat Writer Mock Draft,” Rams reporter Jourdan Rodrigue selected the 5-foot-11, 199-pound Cook as he pick at No. 104 overall, writing:
“The team won’t pay a running back outside of minimum/low cost deals, yet head coach Sean McVay has all but frothed at the mouth at the prospect of utilizing more two-back sets as he continues to develop his offense with quarterback Matthew Stafford. To me, all of this points to the Rams drafting an effective pass-catching back who will eventually take over for Henderson (if not sooner).”
Cook isn’t the only past Southeastern Conference (SEC) standout to be mentioned as a possibility for the Rams. In fact, the other back played in the same division of the SEC when Cook was there.
Mentioned in this Heavy on Rams story on Monday, Florida running back Dameon Pierce was placed as the 104th overall selection to the Rams by CBS Sports.
Should the Rams pivot to drafting a running back regardless of round, McVay and his offensive staff would likely want someone who is versatile enough to catch passes out of the backfield. Cook adds receiving dynamics to his overall game:
The NFL likes running backs who can split out wide and create pass game mismatches. Georgia’s James Cook (@thegreat__4) is that guy.
Now, with Cook set to have a last minute visit with the Rams before next week’s draft, it could be a sign that the Rams will place the instinctive Georgia RB as one of their top options in the third round when they finally make their selection.